Wireless communication networks are increasingly being used for wireless communication with various types of wireless user equipment. The wireless network itself may include a plurality of space-apart wireless base stations, also commonly referred to as “base stations”, “radio access nodes” or simply as “nodes”, that define a plurality of cells, and a core network that controls the nodes and interfaces the nodes with other wired and/or wireless networks. The nodes may be terrestrial and/or space-based. The nodes communicate with wireless User Equipment (UE) using radio resources that are allocated to the wireless network. The radio resources may be defined in terms of time (for example, in a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) system), frequency (for example, in a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) system) and/or code (for example, in a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system).
Various types of base stations have been employed during the evolution of wireless communications networks to define various types and sizes of cells. The cellular industry refers to specific types of cells using loosely defined terms such as macro-cells, micro-cells and pico-cells in respective order of decreasing size. For example, cells, now often referred as “macro-cells”, are deployed to provide the widest coverage area. Macro-cell base stations may have typical power output ranges from the tens to hundreds of watts, and macro-cell diameters of up to 10 km or more in size may be provided. A typical macro-cell has a site with a tower mounted antenna. Smaller cells, now typically referred to as “micro-cells”, are also deployed to provide additional fill-in capacity where needed over relatively short ranges, such as about 300 m to about 2,000 m, and may have an output power of a few watts. Even smaller and lower power base stations, often referred to as “pico-base stations” have been deployed with power outputs of less than about 1 watt to 5 watts and cell sizes of about 200 m or less. While these definitions are provided to frame the succeeding material, it should be noted that various embodiments described may herein relate to a hierarchy with macro-cells having large coverage areas and pico-cells having smaller coverage areas than macro-cells or micro-cells.
The latest type of small base station is often referred to as a “femto-base station”. These femto-base stations may be designed primarily for indoor coverage, and may have power output in the range of between about 1/10 to ½ watt, and cell size on the order of about 10-30 m. These femto-base stations typically are portable, consumer-deployed units that may use licensed or unlicensed spectrum. Often, the backhaul to the wireless communications network is via a consumer-provided packet data connection such as a cable or DSL data connection, rather than a dedicated or leased line switched circuit backhaul that may be used in the other types of base stations described. Accordingly, femto-base stations are a type of base station that may be referred to generically as a “re-deployable” or “transportable” base station. Some pico-base stations may be re-deployable as well. As such, these various types of re-deployable or transportable base stations will be collectively referred to as “local area base stations.”
The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to claims in this application and any application claiming priority from this application, and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.